Almost 30 Kisses
by The Great Cloud Ninja
Summary: Non-explicit entries in my 30kisses LiveJournal challenge. Ratings range from K to T. I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters I use in these stories.
1. WarCrack Widow, Theme 1: Look over here

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters. I do not make any money by writing this story.

_WarCrack Widow_

"Terra," Ven called out, pressing the combination of buttons to deliver the finishing blow to the final boss of his game.

"Mm." Click. Click. Click.

"Ter~ra…"

"What." Terra didn't look away from the computer screen. He was busy slaying Unversed in his favorite computer game (Ven would call it an _obsession _instead), _The Keyblade War._

"I'm bored." Ven rolled over onto his back, his head lolling off the foot of his dorm room bed. His hands were occupied with his handheld system, but it was displaying the ending credits of the game he'd just beaten.

With a long-suffering sigh, Terra typed a message to his guild mates telling them he would be back to the raid in a moment. He spun around in his desk chair to face his boyfriend. "And what am I supposed to do about it? You're playing your game and I'm playing mine. You know Thursday is my guild's raid night, and I'm _so _close to completing my armor set."

Ven couldn't help but roll his eyes. Ever since the game's newest expansion had come out a few weeks ago, he had started to feel more and more like one of those "War Widows" everyone talked about—the significant others of the players who just didn't know when to quit the game and return to real life. "Yeah, and ever since that armor set was released, we have hardly spent two minutes alone with each other, let alone gone on a _real date_."

"I don't have that kind of money," Terra retorted, spinning back around to return to his game. This resulted in him missing the glare his boyfriend shot at him.

"Of course you don't. You spend half your paycheck on that blasted game every month and then you complain that you can't afford to get anything better than cheap frozen pizza, ramen, and instant mac and cheese. I can't keep being responsible for our entire food budget; Mom and Dad are starting to get pissed at me for going over budget every month. And be honest, when's the last time you showered?" Ven sat up properly, crossing his legs Indian-style as he saved the finish data on his game so he could turn it off and toss it aside. "I can smell you from over here. Your desk is a disaster area with that many half-empty cans of Dr. Pepper. One day you're going to get too excited or too angry and there's gonna be an avalanche, and it isn't gonna be pretty."

Normally Ven prided himself on being a pretty laid-back kind of guy. He'd played _The Keyblade War_ before, back before all the expansions. Back when it was something he and Terra did together for fun, running around together with their low-level characters getting into shenanigans. He knew it was a great game. But he hadn't played it for at least a year now, and it seemed that ever since Terra had joined a guild a few months back, he'd started devoting more and more of his time and money to the game. It had been a slow process, to be sure—Terra didn't just up and decide to abandon all his real-life friends, especially not Ven and Aqua. But as time progressed, he didn't hang around the student union as long during his lunch breaks. He didn't come with Ven over to Aqua's apartment for movie nights anymore. At least, not without bringing his laptop and headphones so that he could station himself at Aqua's desk while she and Ven curled up in blankets on the couch to watch the movies. And worst of all (at least in Ven's opinion), he'd started staying up all hours of the night instead of spooning with Ven in one of their dorm room's beds. Sure, he was a laid-back guy, but even he could only take so much neglect from his boyfriend.

That was when he realized Terra had ignored his whole tirade. "Terra, if you don't turn off that game right now and look over here, I will be walking out of this room and I don't know when I'll be back."

"Okay, have fun," Terra mumbled, already lost in the fantasy world of his game once more. Growling under his breath, Ven yanked his duffel bag out from under his bed and started to pack it with clothes, toiletries, and various electronics cords. He stuffed all of his school books and his laptop into his backpack, slung both bags over his shoulders, and walked out the door with his pillow tucked under one arm.

Once he'd made it down to the lobby of his dormitory, he plopped everything down in a pile on the floor and slumped into one of the uncomfortable chairs in the common area. Pulling his cell phone from his cargo pants' pocket, he hit the speed dial number that would call Aqua. He was rubbing tears from his eyes when she answered. "Hey Ven, what's up?"

"Can I stay with you for a few days?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. He hated crying, especially when it was because of stupid emotional stuff rather than actual physical pain. Then again, he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't actually having a heart attack, from the tightness in his chest.

"Of course, sweetheart, you're always welcome over here." Ven's lips quirked just slightly when he heard the pet name, as they always did; she'd called Ven that for as long as he could remember, even though they had a very platonic, brother and sister-like relationship. "Can I ask why though?"

Ven's grimace was audible in his voice as he spoke. "Terra's being an asswipe. He's ignoring me for that stupid game."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Aqua murmured, genuine concern in her voice. "He's always been a bit obsessive; I didn't think it would get this bad, though."

Ven just rolled his eyes at that remark. "I did. But I couldn't do anything to stop it. He's gone over to the dark side and I don't think there's anything we can do to help him. I think we've lost him forever."

Aqua clicked her tongue when she heard Ven speak. "Come on, now. You can't be saying that. You're the eternal optimist, right? If anyone can save Terra from himself, you can."

"I'm not so sure about that…"

"Well anyway, I'll be there to pick you up in five minutes. Are you gonna be waiting outside?"

Ven stood as he spoke, "Yeah, and I've got bags with me. I'll be sitting on the front steps."

"Okay. I'll be there soon. See ya."

"See ya." Ven hung up and stuffed his cell phone in his pocket again, rubbing at his eyes once more before he reached down to pick up his bags. He was interrupted, though, by quick footsteps and a large, tanned hand reaching down to grab the strap of his duffel bag. Looking up in surprise, he lost his breath in a rush when he saw large blue eyes framed by messy brown hair.

"Please don't go."

"Terra… let go of my bag." Ven reached out to take the strap from the other teen, avoiding his gaze.

"I'm sorry. I've been a huge douchebag. Please don't leave me…" Ven's eyes jerked up suddenly at the tone of Terra's voice. "When I told the guild what happened, they all left me in the dungeon. They said I wasn't allowed back in the guild or allowed to do raids until I spent some quality time with you."

Ven looked down at where their hands were nearly touching as they both still gripped the duffel bag's strap. "I'm really mad at you Terra. You've changed. You aren't the same guy I started dating."

"I know that. I'm going to change, I promise," Terra said insistently. "And the first thing I'm going to do is take you and your stuff back upstairs so I can give you a proper apology. If you'll let me, that is…"

Dropping the strap and his backpack, Ven practically launched himself at Terra, wrapping his arms around the taller boy's neck. "Look only at me for the rest of the night. Maybe then I'll accept your apology," he whispered into Terra's ear.

Terra smiled, his eyes a little watery as he gathered Ven up in his arms. "I think I can handle that." He pulled Ven back just enough to allow him to press kisses to his lover's nose, cheeks, and finally lips. He was about to just carry the smaller blond up to their dorm room for the official apology when a familiar ringtone emanated from Ven's pocket. With another small smile, he set his lover down and proceeded to pick up the bags and the pillow while Ven answered.

"Hello? Hey Aqua… Sorry, I got distracted. But I don't think I need to be picked up anymore. Sorry for making you drive all the way over here... Yeah, Terra came to his senses…. Yes, he is. Hang on a sec." Pulling the phone away from his ear, Ven held the mobile device out to Terra. "She wants to talk to you."

Interest piqued, Terra took the phone away from Ven and answered, "Hi Aqua."

"Are you really sorry for what you've been doing to him? To us?" Aqua's tone was accusatory.

"When I turned around again and saw Ven was gone, my heart broke," Terra replied honestly. "I never realized how much I was hurting him until he left. I'm glad he did it, though, and with his and your help, I'm going to get better."

Terra could hear Aqua sigh into the phone, but it sounded relieved. "Good. I'm sure Ven's going to set you up on some strict time regimen for your playing. As long as the two of you are okay, I'm satisfied."

Glancing over at Ven again, Terra noticed the slightly glazed look in his eye and the bloom of color on his cheeks, and he grinned. "You have nothing to worry about, Aqua. We're more than okay. Anyway, I gotta go so I can show Ven how sorry I am with my body. Talk to you later!" Ven's squawk of embarrassed surprise came over the line just before the call ended.

"Jerk! You aren't supposed to talk to Aqua about that stuff! It's private!" Ven cried. He smacked Terra on the shoulder before taking his phone back, shoving it into the pocket of his pants.

With a grin, Terra leaned down and pressed another short kiss to his lover's lips.

"I'm pretty sure she knows what we do in our private time, Ven. Don't get too worked up about it. Let's just go up to our room, so I don't run the risk of accidentally looking at anyone else tonight."

Grumbling under his breath, Ven reluctantly followed his lover over to the dorm elevator. "You're lucky you're cute," he muttered. "Otherwise you'd so be dead right now."


	2. Electricity, Theme 3: Jolt!

Disclaimer: I do not own the manga "Electricity" by Naono Bohra, Kingdom Hearts, or any of the characters in this story. I am not making any money by writing this story.

Author's Note: The plot of this story is based on the one-shot story "Electricity" by Naono Bohra, found in the manga _Dakishimetakunai_.

Terra stared blankly ahead at the board, only vaguely listening to the teacher drone on about the history of relations between the elves and the ogres. Magical World History had always been his least favorite subject, especially when the subject wasn't a bloody war or something else vaguely interesting. More and more often, Terra found himself wondering if continuing his magical education to this level was even worth it—he knew all the high-level earth magic spells already, which was his specialty, and no one in the entire school dared to even talk to him after finding out that his father, Eraqus, was the headmaster of the school. After that tidbit of information was revealed, just about everyone was either too afraid of or too disgusted with him to give him the time of day; Aqua, his best friend since childhood, was the only person who ever spent time with him these days.

Terra was seriously considering taking a nap when the door opened to reveal a short blond figure in the school's uniform, looking rather overwhelmed. He meekly stepped into the room and handed the teacher a slip of paper, which he proceeded to skim quickly. "Class, this is Ven. He's a new student who was just transferred here. Please make him feel welcome. You can have a seat on the right, in front of Terra."

The whispers that had broken out when the blond entered the room cut off instantly at the mention of the headmaster's son. Since it was the only empty seat in the room, Ven quickly started in that direction, plopping down rather unceremoniously in his seat and hanging his book bag from the hook on the side of the desk. For the remaining twenty minutes of class, Terra noticed, the boy somehow managed to take perfect notes without once looking up at the board to see what the teacher was writing down on it. When the bell rang to signal the end of class, his shoulders slumped visibly, as if he'd been holding them tense the whole class.

Terra waited for the majority of the students to file out of the classroom before he stood to leave. As he walked up the aisle, he glanced down at the new kid and reached down to touch his shoulder. "Don't be so nerv—ahh!" He jerked his hand away as a bright spark jumped from Ven's shoulder to his fingertips, shocking him. It was like the strongest static electricity he'd ever experienced; his whole hand was tingling. "What the heck was that?"

"S-sorry…" Ven mumbled, standing quickly and stuffing his things into his bag. "It happens sometimes…"

Terra was still trying to shake the tingling out of his hand; now it felt like pins and needles had set in, as if he'd been leaning on it and it had fallen asleep. "It's no big deal. Weird things happen around here all the time. I shouldn't be surprised if one of the students goes around shocking everyone."

The boy looked up, as if wanting to protest, simultaneously giving Terra a good look at his face. He had kind of a baby face, with smooth dewy skin that wouldn't look out of place on a girl, and the biggest, deepest blue eyes Terra had ever seen. They were even nicer than his own baby blues—and his eyes were his best feature, if he did say so himself. Yeah, this kid was gonna go far around here with his looks, even if his personality left a little to be desired. "You'll be fine, don't worry. I'm sure everyone's gonna love you." Giving the boy a grin, he headed off to his next class, having to hustle a little so he wouldn't be late.

Once the brunet had left the room, Ven let out a heavy sigh and followed. His shoulder was tingling a little as well, but for a completely different reason—the other boy's hand had been very warm. The blush on Ven's face faded little, if at all, as he walked to his next class.

It took a few weeks, but once Ven finally started to come out of his shell, Terra started to notice some things about the younger male. First of all, he wasn't nearly as young as Terra had first pinned him to be—he was only two years younger, sitting at a respectable 16 years old compared to Terra's 18. He apparently had a twin brother named Vanitas and two younger brothers named Sora and Roxas. Vanitas still attended their old school, but was thinking of transferring at the beginning of the next school year. Ven had been moved here early because of the whole electric charge thing, which none of his brothers experienced for some reason. Adept at wind magic, Ven's favorite pastime was making paper airplanes fly around the classroom when the teacher wasn't looking.

That was something else Terra hadn't expected about the young man—Ven actually had a pretty impish personality. While he wasn't a troublemaker by any means, he loved a good laugh and never passed up an opportunity to prank Terra once the two had become more comfortable with one another. Terra wasn't sure if they could really be considered "friends" yet, but Ven greeted him with a smile every day when he walked into the classroom, and the blond always seemed interested when Terra had some news or a story to relate. They both lived in the dorms, but Terra was two floors up from where Ven was due to their age difference, and a floor full of hormonal 18-year-old boys was always entertaining. Terra and Ven were still snickering about the time one of the other boys tried to slip his roommate a gender transformation potion so he could take some raunchy photos and distribute them to the rest of the dorm (for a fee, of course). The potion, unfortunately, had had an interesting effect. Rather than turning the boy's roommate into a girl, it made him horny as hell and made him lose his inhibitions, causing some… rather interesting noises to come from the room that night.

"Terra?" Ven called, snapping the older boy out of his thoughts. "The teacher's here."

"Oh, okay." Leaning back in his desk chair, Terra glanced down at his History notebook. He'd been on the same page of his notebook for the past two weeks; he just couldn't concentrate enough in class to write notes for some reason. Before, his mind would wander; but more and more often lately he'd noticed himself staring intently at the nape of Ven's neck, where the small spikes on the back of his head brushed his skin. More than once, his hand had been stretched out halfway to touching that neck. They hadn't touched often since that first day, but every time they did, that intense electric shock passed between them.

Picking up his pencil, Terra blew his bangs out of his face and tried to concentrate on the class.

"You hungry?" Terra grinned and held up a twenty dollar bill. "I'll treat you to lunch."

Ven looked up from his textbook, snapping it shut around his finger to keep his place. "I could eat."

Terra's shoulders slumped a little when he heard that. "Man, you need to eat more. You hardly eat anything at lunch. If you don't gain some weight soon, you're gonna get blown away by one of those winds of yours."

Chuckling, Ven stood from where he was sitting on the low brick wall outside their dormitory during their midday break. Terra slung his arm around the blond's shoulders, the limb jerking from the initial shock and then settling down as the hum of electric current traveled up and down it, making it tingle. That was one thing Terra had come to realize over the past several months—short touches hurt but sustained contact didn't hurt, only tingled. It was like putting his hands on one of those metal balls that made his hair stand on end, only the feeling was more intense and his hair didn't stand up any more than it normally did.

As they made their way toward the cafeteria, Terra tried to ignore the whispers of the students they passed. There were already plenty of rumors about Terra going around—mostly concerning his father—but now there were rumors that Terra and Ven were dating each other. _I don't mind it all that much, _he thought to himself,_ but I have no idea if Ven's straight or bi or gay. I don't know if he's heard the rumors, or how he's gonna take them if he hasn't._ Worrying his lower lip slightly between his teeth, he glanced down at Ven, who seemed content to lean his head against Terra's shoulder as they walked together. _On the other hand, I can't say I would mind dating him… _

Ven happened to look up then, noticing Terra's lip between his teeth. "What's wrong?" he asked rather nervously.

"Huh? Nothing," Terra replied quickly, schooling his face into his normal relaxed grin. "Just thinking about all the things I'm gonna buy you today and make you eat so we can get some meat on these bones." The arm that was draped around Ven's shoulders slid down to pinch at Ven's sides teasingly, and Terra's smile widened when he heard the sharp yelp of laughter from the smaller boy's mouth. "You're ticklish there, aren't you?"

"Stop, stooooooooop iiiiiiiiiittt!" Ven whined, squirming to get away from Terra's grip. The humming was getting stronger as Terra continued, and Ven was nearly doubled over as his laughter made it difficult to breathe. "P-please, Terra!" Terra froze at the breathless tone he heard in Ven's voice, pulling his hands away quickly. His eyes were wide as he stared down at the younger boy with his throat strangely constricted, making him unable to speak. Ven looked up a little worriedly at the way Terra had just suddenly stopped. "What's the matter? Seriously, you're acting weird today."

Ven's words seemed to break the spell over Terra, and he blinked himself back to full awareness. "Sorry Ven," he said quietly. "I'm just kind of stressed over my grade for Magical World History." It wasn't exactly a lie—his grade was in jeopardy—but he wasn't going to let Ven know what direction his thoughts had suddenly decided to turn.

"Do you want to borrow my notes? Or I could tutor you or something," the blond offered. "I have an 'A' in that class right now."

"That'd be great." That easy smile was back, and the moment was behind them as they continued toward the cafeteria. When they arrived, they noticed their friend Aqua sitting with some other girls around their usual table, a heated discussion seemingly taking place between the four of them. Two of the other girls had blonde hair—one loose and curled around her shoulders, the other up in a bun. The final girl had deep black hair that she wore in a short bob. Terra thought he vaguely recognized the three girls, but couldn't immediately place them.

"I'm telling you, they aren't together!" Aqua suddenly yelled out, garnering the attention of several tables around them. Wincing a bit, she settled deeper into her chair.

Terra missed her next words, but he could make out both his and Ven's names by reading her lips. "Come on, Ven, let's go get food," he said quickly, steering the younger boy toward the lunch line.

"But I want to go say hi to Aqua first," Ven tried to protest, but Terra grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away before he could get out of reach. "Are you really that hungry Terra?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm starving. I really want to get food." Terra's free hand clenched a bit, and he started to walk faster, nearly making Ven trip over his shoes as he tried to keep up with the pace. Of course, once they were in the lunch line, Terra made sure to debate over his food choices as long as possible, much to Ven's annoyance.

"God, just pick something already," he muttered.

Turning to Ven, the taller boy hissed, "Shut up, all right? I'm doing this for you."

"Doing what for me? What are you hiding, Terra?"

_Shit… _He was caught. Terra rubbed his forehead with one hand, sighing softly. "Look… there are some rumors going around about us… I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Are you talking about the rumors that we are going out?" Ven asked flatly. Two pairs of blue eyes widened one right after the other. Ven burst out into laughter at the look of shock that had appeared on Terra's face. "You didn't seriously think I hadn't heard them, did you?" he asked through peals of giggles.

"Eh… buh…" Terra's mouth opened and closed at random, reminding Ven distinctly of a fish. It took a gentle prod from Ven right on the nose, and the resulting jolt, to bring him back to his sense. "You _knew? _And you didn't think to mention it to me? I was having an emotional crisis here!"

Ven just snorted at that response. "Oh come on, Terra. They're only rumors. It's not like there's any truth to them." As soon as the words were out of the blond's mouth, Terra seemed to deflate just a bit.

Nodding slightly, Terra let out a weak chuckle. "Right… then let's just get our food and go say hi to Aqua."

Ven frowned slightly at Terra's tone, but said nothing, just following the older boy to the cash register where he paid for both of their meals. They were soon sitting at the table with the four girls, who had moved away from the topic of Ven and Terra's potential love life.

"I hope Philip will ask me to the Winter Ball," the long-haired blonde murmured, her voice a dreamy sigh. "I've been crushing on him for _weeks_ now, but he still hasn't asked me out."

"Don't worry, Aurora, I'm sure he will ask you," Aqua replied, patting her on the shoulder comfortingly. "But maybe tomorrow, you should wear that blue dress you just got, to try to get his attention in class."

"Mm. Or I could wear the pink one I just made in Home Economics. What about you Cindy? Snow? Which lucky guys do you hope will ask you to the Ball?" Aurora asked curiously. _Right, those two are Cinderella and Snow White,_ Terra thought, finally remembering their names. The three girls were all in his P.E. class.

"I just hope I get asked soon," Cinderella said demurely. "I have so much classwork due the Monday after the Ball, I might not even have time to go… but if I get asked, I'll make sure to get it all done so I'll have time to go."

Snow White looked down slightly when she realized it was her turn to talk. "Well, the Winter Ball is the same night as my neighbor's anniversary… and I sort of already promised them I would babysit their kids. They have seven, after all, and none of them are old enough to stay alone."

"But if you get asked to the ball, you have to go!" Aurora cried. "Can't they find someone else to babysit their kids?"

"Oh, I don't know… I've always babysat for them, ever since I turned 13. The kids know and trust me. Trust is very important when it comes to babysitting."

"Come on, I'm sure if you explain to them what's going on, they'll find someone else!" Cinderella reached over and put her hand on Ven's shoulder casually, adding, "You should ask her, Ven! That way she'll for sure have someone to go with. And then if someone else asks her, you can go with Terra."

Terra was acutely aware of the fact that Cinderella didn't jerk her hand away in pain when she touched Ven's shoulder. In fact, he noticed, there hadn't been any evidence of a static discharge. "Um, Ven…"

Snow White looked at Ven with hope shining in her eyes and took his hand in both of hers. "Oh, would you? I'm sure if I introduced you to the family, they would understand."

Ven pulled his hand away from her grip, sliding back just a bit. "I don't know… I'm not really a 'dance' kind of guy. Maybe Terra could do it." Before he'd even finished the sentence, all three of the girls were descending on the brunet, begging and pleading him.

"All right, fine, fine. I'll help you out, Snow, just this once. Now if you'll excuse me…" Pushing his chair away from the table, he stood, his elbow brushing Ven's shoulder in the process—causing a bright flash of light and searing pain to shoot through his whole arm. "Shit!" He fell backwards from the jolt, landing painfully on his hip on the thin carpet of the cafeteria floor. "Ven, what was that?"

Jumping to his feet, Ven hurried over to Terra, kneeling on the floor next to the fallen teen. "Oh my god, are you okay?" He reached out his hand, but Terra shook his head, scooting away. "Don't touch me…" Slowly getting up, he made his way out of the cafeteria, limping slightly and cradling his arm. He could feel blood dripping between his fingers.

Terra didn't see Ven that weekend. He didn't see Ven again until class on Monday. And when he saw the younger boy, he wished he hadn't. There were dark circles around his eyes from lack of sleep, his normal spiky hairstyle was wilted, and he just generally looked pitiful. _God, does he realize what he's doing to me?_

"Hi, Terra," Ven murmured tiredly as he plopped into his usual seat. "Are you… okay?" A clap of thunder accompanied his question; it had been storming all weekend.

Lifting his arm, Terra pulled up his sleeve to reveal the bandages wrapped around his elbow. "I can't bend my arm too much right now, but otherwise I'm healing fine, so says the medical center," he replied. "But I've always thought Dr. Merlin was kind of a quack."

"I'm so sorry… I really didn't mean to hurt you…"

"Why me?" Ven's glanced up at Terra through his lashes at the sudden question. "Why am I the only one who gets shocked like this? I thought we were friends… I thought you liked me."

Ven's eyes widened when he realized the insinuation Terra was trying to make. "We are friends! I like you!" He bit his lip, wanting to say more, but the location and the moment were nowhere near right. He ran his hand through his hair harshly, tugging at it. "Look, just… just come with me to my dorm room during lunch. I'll explain everything there."

Terra could only nod, surprised by the sudden burst of energy from the smaller boy. "Okay…" He was quiet the rest of class, trying and failing once more to take notes from the teacher's lecture.

Terra's final class before lunch was normally one of his favorites—it was his Offensive and Defensive Magic class—but this particular day he was too nervous and antsy to be able to enjoy it. _Come on, clock, move faster… I want to know what Ven has to say,_ he thought to himself. Needless to say, he was the first out the door when the period finally ended, hurrying over to the dormitory and heading up to Ven's floor.

Ven's door was open when Terra arrived, and the brunet peered his head in to see if the blond's roommates, a vivacious redhead named Lea and a stoic silver-haired boy named Isa, were inside as well. "They aren't here," Ven said from across the room when he noticed the head of brown hair poking into his room. "They already went to go get lunch."

Terra let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him for some reason—he had a strange feeling he didn't want anyone else to hear this conversation. "So what was that all about earlier?" he asked softly, resisting the urge to bite his lower lip.

"You might want to sit down."

"I'll stand." _Over here by the door in case I need to make a quick getaway,_ he mentally added.

Ven nodded slightly, walking closer to his best friend. "You want to know why I only shock you, right?"

"Well, yeah… I mean, the girls the other day didn't even seem to get a static shock, much less the kind of electric shocks I get…" Terra's voice suddenly seemed strained, and he looked like he was ready to bolt at the slightest sign of trouble—a far cry from his normal, easy confidence. "And then I barely touched you and it was like my arm was on fire…"

"I have to be honest, I don't completely understand this electricity thing," Ven admitted. "But one thing I've noticed is that it's tied to extreme emotions… pain, anger, excitement… that sort of thing." He slowly stepped closer to Terra, his hands clasped behind his back. "I wasn't feeling any particularly strong emotions when the girls were touching me, but… but then I got angry when they started getting all over you. I couldn't control it."

Terra's eyes widened slightly at that admission as he lifted his head to meet Ven's gaze. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice breathless now. "You always shock me…"

The corners of Ven's lips quirked just slightly. "I'm always excited around you," he murmured. He came even closer to Terra, standing just in front of him now. "Ever since my first day of school. It took me a while to realize why, but now I know."

"Why?"

Ven leaned up and pressed his lips to Terra's. The initial jolt made the older boy gasp, allowing the younger boy's tongue to slide inside and tentatively explore the new territory. Then the familiar hum set in, this time with a whole new, delicious twinge that coursed throughout Terra's body. When Ven pulled back, Terra couldn't help the whine that escaped his lips.

"That was pretty cute, Terra," Ven teased gently. "Almost like it was your first kiss."

"It was…" Terra gasped out, still trying to catch his breath.

"Are you serious?" When Terra nodded, Ven's cheeks flushed a deep cherry red. "I was so nervous I wouldn't live up to your expectations… I thought you had way more experience than I did."

Touched by Ven's worry, Terra wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, burying his nose in the spiky blond locks. "It's okay. Now we can get experience together."

"You two are so _cute_ together," Aqua said with a grin, sitting at a large round table with Ven and Terra. The three of them had all decided to go to the Winter Ball together, going the whole nine yards—going out for dinner, buying corsages and boutonnieres, and taking the corny staged photos together just inside the doorway of the gymnasium. After dancing together for nearly an hour, the three had sat down to quench their thirst on the punch (though Aqua had taken Ven's away and had made him get a bottle of water from the vending machine after they had discovered that someone had spiked it). "I'm jealous."

"Aww, come on, Aqua, we'll all still be best friends," Ven said, patting the blue-haired girl on the shoulder. "I mean, you're like the sister I've never had."

Terra nodded in agreement with that sentiment. "Hell, I don't have any siblings, so you're like a big and little sister all in one."

Smiling gently, Aqua reached out and took both boys' hands in her own. "Thanks, guys. Now you two go dance together. It's a slow song."

Terra glanced over at Ven, the two of them communicating through their eyes. _Under the mistletoe?_

_Definitely._

The two boys both grinned as they stood, a bright spark appearing when Terra took Ven's hand. "Good idea, Aqua. We'll be back." They hurried over to the doorway where they'd entered, moving closer and starting to sway as they kissed.


End file.
